1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a gas separator utilizing deflectors which are parallel and continuous non-planar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air washers are used to wash air and to remove entrained particles of liquid, such as water, from air or other gases. In the air washer zig-zag shaped eliminator sheets upon which moisture-laden air can deposit water are mounted in a frame to comprise what will be referred to as an eliminator core. In the eliminator core, the sheets are grouped as a bundle to form tortuous paths for the air moving through the air washer. Various deflectors and nozzles are commonly employed in the air washer upstream of the eliminator core in the path of moving air to wash the air with liquid. As a result of the washing, the air entering the eliminator core is relatively clean but supersaturated with moisture. In the eliminator core, entrained liquid particles are removed as the air, at high velocity, changes directions along the tortuous paths between the zig-zag shaped eliminator sheets and the entrained particles are caused to impinge on and drain down the eliminator sheets for collection below the core.
As a result of the environment in which they are employed, the eliminator sheets are prone to having solids as well as liquids deposited on their surfaces and must be periodically cleaned. This is particularly true in textile mills where lint, fly and starches are carried in the air and readily join with the water in the air to cover the eliminator sheets with a glue-like coating.
As part of the eliminator core, a seal is normally employed on the top of the eliminator bundle to channel the air and also to provide additional rigidity by contacting the top edges of the eliminator sheets. The seal, normally a flat sealing plate covered with an elastomeric pad, complicates the maintenance of the sheets because the seal must be broken to allow movement or removal of the sheets for cleaning or replacement. One method used to improve this general design has been to hinge the entire top of the core to permit easy access to the top of the sheets and removal of the sheets through the top. When a first core has a second core stacked thereon, or some other obstruction thereabove, such a hinge on the first core cannot be utilized without first unstacking the second core or removing the obstruction thereabove.
Stacking of eliminator cores is common and is employed to meet capacity requirements. The eliminator sheets of the bundle are usually prefabricated in convenient lengths (the longest dimension), and pressure drop places a practical limit to eliminator sheet width (the distance from the inlet edge to the outlet edge).
Across the top of the eliminator core, above the eliminator bundle, transverse steel channels are normally utilized across the inlet side and across the outlet side as a means of providing rigidity to the core during handling and for stacking purposes. The channels provide a vertical space of approximately three inches between the top of the eliminator bundle and the top of the eliminator core.
Another area of concern during operation of the air washer is the spacing between the sheets and sheet vibration. The spacing, normally equal, is designed to equalize the pressure drop across the tortuous paths between the sheets to prevent flow disturbances which can prevent removal of the entrained particles. Sheet vibration can also cause flow disturbances and is a major cause of sheet wear. Means usually spacer bars are used to maintain the spacing and minimize the vibration during operation of the air washer. The spacer bars are commonly located at interim locations between the top and bottom of the eliminator bundle on the inlet edges and outlet edges of the eliminator sheets.
The conventional spacer bar is a metal angle or zee bar with slots spaced to accommodate the edges of the eliminator sheets at the proper locations. Typically there is a means of locking in place or restricting the motion of the eliminator sheet edges with respect to the slots. U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,193 to Lamb is an example. The locking or restricting means often slows spacer bar removal to allow movement or removal of the sheets.
These conventional spacer bars have major disadvantages. The flat surfaces of the spacer bars exposed to the primary direction of flow in the air stream cause a pressure drop and will also tend to collect grains of water moisture which in turn form droplets. The droplets thus formed, especially on the exhaust side, will accumulate moisture until they are sufficiently large to break free from the flat surface and follow the direction of air flow as reentrained particles.